MARS ORBITER MISSION is the first Indian mission to Mars. The PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) placed the probe in an orbit with a low point of 153 miles (246 km) and a high point of 14,643 miles (23,566 km). The flawless launch did not put the Mars probe on a direct course to the red planet. Six firings of the probe's on-board propulsion system, derived from a thruster demonstrated on India's communications satellites, will raise the spacecraft's orbit over the next few weeks and send it on a trajectory to escape the grasp of Earth's gravity. Radhakrishnan said the final Earth departure maneuver is scheduled for Dec. 1.